


Moon Kingdom Come

by jemionis travels (Jemixe712)



Series: Moon Kingdom Come [1]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Gen, Kidnapping, Not a Crossover, bad guy Obadiah Stane, but don't let that scare you away, but inspired by Sailor Moon, cartoon level violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 17:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jemixe712/pseuds/jemionis%20travels
Summary: I’ve head an fic idea that I started writing. It’s not really a cross over, just a sort of inspired idea?  The Avengers based on Sailor Moon, but not really a crossover. The Avengers are reincarnated from the Moon Kingdom who are all waking up to their powers. They are trying to find the Prince and his true love as they are the only ones who can control the rainbow crystals in order to defeat Thanos before he takes over the galaxy and destroys the earth.





	Moon Kingdom Come

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned, this is a fic inspired by some of the ideas in Sailor Moon. This one is basically the set up and re-telling of IM 1. It'll be a series, and I have 10 planned out right now. It all came from seeing a gif of Tony Sailor Moon'ing into his armor. I'll delve into that part later. But, this is an experiment and we'll see how it goes.

_ “It’s time for them to awaken. The members of the moon kingdom are needed again. The prince will have to gather and unite the infinity gems.” _

_ “Are you sure? Because that would mean...” _

_ “Yes. Thanos is coming.” _

 

Tony was in a fugue state, building what amounted to a suit of armor, but he didn’t know why he started, didn’t remember planning the schematics or even getting the materials. What was more worrisome was this suit of armor took longer than one night, or even one week. Tony had essentially been engineering while asleep or in a trance and he’d woken up to a silver colored armor, and he didn’t know what to do with it, he just knew it was important. 

He was sitting in his workshop staring at the armor, thinking it’d be cool if it could fly when Rhodey found him.

“This both raises and answers so many questions, Tones. What’s going on?” He handed Tony a can of soda and dragged a chair next to the genius, then stared at the armor while waiting for an answer. 

“Well, I could’ve been a blacksmith in a past life, and my regressive memories are coming to the fore. Or I could have been possessed by a blacksmith because before this; I would have said I couldn’t have made anything resembling a suit of armor but...” He flailed his hand towards the armor as if to say, there you go and took a sip of his drink. 

Tony noticed a pensive, almost troubled look cross Rhodey’s face but decided to wait him out. His friend would tell him in his own time. 

 

“What do you think it’s for?” Rhodey stood up and walked to the armor, reaching a hand out towards the shoulder.

 

“It’s for you.” Tony wasn’t sure he could have answered that question before, not until a particular James Rhodes asked it, not until he saw his friend standing next to his creation. In fact, he was sure the armor was built to fit Rhodey’s body specifically. 

 

Tony noticed the complete lack of surprise on Rhodey’s face, in fact, he watched as a possessive and very satisfied air settled about the other man.

 

“Rhodey, I’ve been making this armor, I’ve seen the trials and errors as I tried to get it right. It’s been done pretty much in my sleep because I have a feeling something is coming and we’ve got to be prepared. I just don’t know the logistics of this thing, or how to power it, or how you’d work with it or use it. I just made it, and things still feel unfinished.”

“I think,” Rhodey began haltingly, before his voice gained more conviction, “I think I’m supposed to protect something or someone.”

 

Tony nodded and set his drink down. “So, freaking out about how much we’re not freaking out? Or is that just me? Because this all seems rather mystical and woo-woo type bullshit.”

 

Rhodey looked to his friend, who was barely out of his teens, had graduated college with multiple degrees so young, and was now headed a major company. He saw that Tony was starting to get more and more agitated. 

 

“I feel like I haven’t been in control, I made a suit of armor in my sleep! I’ve been having dreams telling me to find someone, but not who to find or why; just that he needs to be protected. I get this feeling and these stupid premonition type things and these dreams that something big is coming and there is going to be a fight. And this is just ridiculous because right now, I don’t feel like I’m in control!”

 

Rhodey walked to Tony and wrapped on hand around the back of the younger man’s neck. 

 

“Hey, Tones, we’ve got this. We’ll figure it out. You’ve got me, and now, apparently, you’ve got a suit of armor. You and me? We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

 

Tony let his head fall against Rhodey’s should and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Rhodey’s body wash, cologne, and the familiar smells of the workshop; both familiar and comforting. They all helped calm Tony down.

 

“Right. We’ve got this. I’m a genius and you’re awesome and together we’re unstoppable. Until then, I have to get ready for a meeting with Obie and the board. We’ll figure this out after, or later, or sometime. Don’t do anything with that armor before I’ve had a chance to look at it while awake and in full control of my mind.”

 

Rhodey smiled at Tony, watched as he pulled himself together, ready to take on the world. “I’ll forego mentioned how you in full control of your mind is a pipe dream, and just tell you to knock ‘em dead.”

Tony smiled and tossed off a sloppy salute as he left, “Thanks honey graham.”

 

“Obie, we are not going to scrap the arc reactor project!”

 

“Tony, kid, that project was just to appease those granola loving, birkenstock wearing, hippie environmentalists. It was never meant to be a viable source of energy. It’s huge, takes up needed space, and it’s a money pit to keep it going.”

 

Tony knew he seemed really stubborn about this, but he knew he couldn’t back down, the arc reactor project needed to stay open. He knew it the same way he knew the armor was important. It was all connected somehow to the dreams. 

 

“This is important to me, Obie, and it’s personal. The patent belonged to my father and it was passed down to me, it was not part of the company’s assets. Also, the arc reactor is on family land, not company land. The company can’t touch it, so the board and everyone will have to come up with a different plot of land, other than the old facility upstate, to build their new testing range. The arc reactor isn’t going anywhere.”

 

Tony watched as Obie’s brows furrowed, his nostrils flared, and his mouth tightened before his face smoothed out before he answered tightly, “Of course, Tony. But you’ll have to do something to placate the board, up the time table on the new missile you’ve been building.”

 

Tony released a bit of the tension he’d been holding and smiled a bit at the other man, “I’ve got something they’ll like, and I’ll even be the one to present it to the military when it’s ready.”

 

“Good to hear, kid. Go get to the lab and start working and I’ll make the amends to the board members. We’ll get lunch and fine tune some details, my treat.” 

 

The older man left Tony with a hearty slap to the back that caused him to stumble. Tony made his sluggish way to his office, the conversation leaving him feeling oddly drained. He needed to go over the week’s schedule with his assistant, which left him feeling preemptively drained. 

 

“Good morning, Mr. Stark,” Pepper handed him his schedule and an espresso before continuing. “You have a conference call with our branch in Japan, then a walk through with R&D. After that, there is the conference with Germany, then there is a budget meeting.”

 

“Thank you Ms. Potts.” The two of them had perfected their walk and talk when Tony was still at MIT, but was also interning at the office for his father and Obie. A few skirts, shirts, and cups were sacrificed, but the two were now so in-sync others were in awe of them. The two of them were scarily efficient and half the time others believed they were connected at the brian. As they ran down their routine, Tony started feeling twitchy, the same way he did when he felt compelled to build something. Only this time it was centered around Pepper, and there was the added urgency that he felt as he was building the armor for Rhodey. Tony felt annoyed because, once again, he felt out of control, and he didn’t want Pepper in danger. However, it looked like he was going to be building another suit of armor. Hopefully he’d be more awake and aware this time.

  
  
  


Tony was nervous. Sure, he’d done presentations before but there was this feeling that this one was different. He was at an upstate DoD testing facility to showcase his new hardware. There was upgraded body armor and helmets, as well as some newer and better night vision goggles. He even tossed in a new missile. Usually, Tony enjoyed these show and tells, but right now, he regretted saying he’d be the one to present, but he’d promised Obie and it had gotten the board off his back. Just, why did Obie suggest this one? Still, he felt nervous and even with Rhodey with him, the feeling wouldn’t go away. After the presentation and the explosion and the drinks, talking, ass-kissing and everything, Tony joined Rhodey, standing shoulder to shoulder. 

 

“Tones, stay by me, okay.” Tony glanced at Rhodey before returning his gaze to the mountain he’d just blown up, smoke and dust still settling. “Just, don’t go too far out of my sight, I’d just feel better.”

 

“Something’s going to happen, you feel it too.: Tony felt his friend’s hand on his shoulder, felt the squeeze. 

 

“Tony.” He’d never heard James Rhodes sound so lost, not even after Tony first had alcohol poison and was rushed to the hospital, or when he’d got caught in someone else’s lab explosion and inhaled noxious fumes, or when he’d...fallen down the stairs at home and had a busted lip, broken shoulder and wrist, and twisted ankle. 

 

“Rhodey, we can both feel it. Something is going to happen, something important. It needs to happen.” Tony knew this wouldn’t be easy, but it was going to change everything. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into the abyss, waiting to see who blinked first. 

 

“I built another suit, one for Pepper. The only thing I don’t have for either one is a power source.” Tony took a deep breath and let all his masks fall away, and let Rhodey see he was scared. “Rhodey...Jim. I don’t want to do this.”

 

Rhodey pulled Tony into a side hug, tugged him into his side, and said nothing.

 

Tony and Rhodey got separated, and Tony was grateful. He watched as the young Airmen got out and were killed, he saw how they were targeting his vehicle, and he was glad Rhodey was further back in the convoy. As Tony grabbed a Stark designed M-4 and aimed, Tony hoped Rhodey stayed back and didn’t come for him and let himself be a target, even as he knew the other man would be pushing his way to get to Tony. He barely spared a thought to question why the Airmen in his vehicle hadn’t shot back before they were killed, but then his own weapon jammed, wouldn’t fire. He threw the gun down and started making his way back towards Rhodey. He’d be safe with him. 

 

That was when one of his own bombs hit. What stood out the most wasn’t pain or being thrown into a rock, or even the sight of his own blood. It was the ringing in his ears. Then he passed out.

After that, he remembered pain and the smell of dust. He remembered water and food, he remembered being unable to breath. Tony remembered sensation, feeling of shocks and tugging. He remembered hands pulling and pushing. He remembers words he couldn’t understand and some he could. 

  
  


_ In a wrecked kingdom, downed pillars, destroyed walls, broken glass, Tony stood. There was a mist that prevented him from seeing too far, from seeing too much. He felt a strong sense of deja vu. He heard the sound of glass crunching behind him and jerked around. Through the mist, he saw a silhouette, only enough to make out it was a man. _

 

_ “You need to find the six gems. You need to protect the Moon Kingdom Prince.” _

 

_ “What? What prince? How do I find him?” _

 

_ Tony tried to walk to the shadow, but his feet were stuck in place. He was paralyzed, could only listen.  _

 

_ “Thanos’s people must not get the gems. You must fight them, find the others, and protect the gems and the prince. This universe rests in your hands.” _

 

Tony remembers dreams. A voice that tell him to fight and search. They needed to find the crystals and the gauntlet in order to win. The others needed to be found. The prince needed to be found. 

“You talk in your sleep and you have very interesting fevered dreams.”

 

Tony jerked awake then gasped in pain as the sound of the accented voice. 

 

“You shouldn’t move too much, you’ll re-injure yourself, and then you’d be no good to anyone.”

 

Tony looked down and saw his chest was bandaged and there was a car battery hooked up to something. He was woozy, but it wasn’t from any pain medications; it was likely just from the pain. He turned, carefully, to look at his companion and saw an older man, balding, wearing glasses. He looked tired but kind. 

 

“Who are you? What happened?”

 

“I am a doctor, Dr. Yinsen. I had to save your life. I had to operate on you and install a battery run machine to make sure your heart keep beating. I have to keep you alive so you can build your weapon. Although, I do not think that is all they want from you.”

 

Tony sat up, slowly, the battery in his lap and stared at the other man. His words had a weight to them that seemed to go beyond their current circumstances. 

 

Suddenly, before he could say anything, a door burst open and men came in, armed men speaking different languages. They grabbed Tony’s arm and yanked him up, doing the same with the doctor. They were yelling at Tony, but he didn’t know what they wanted. They pushed him down into a chair, one that was positioned in front of another man. 

 

“I am Raza and you, Tony Stark, will made me weapons. And you will make me this.” The man, Raza, slammed down an old photograph of the huge arc reactor Howard unveiled in the 70’s. When Tony didn’t agree, the satisfied smile that crossed the man’s face left him feeling worried. Then came the water. Then came more pain.

“I need to make something to replace this car battery. I don’t think I’ll last much longer otherwise.”

 

Yinsen looked up at Tony, “What do you propose as a substitute? We are lacking materials.”

 

Tony smiled because they were lacking materials, true, but the materials they had were the right ones. The group, the Ten Rings, had some of Stark Industries weapons, and he could work with that. He felt he was going in the right direction, doing whatever the dreams needed him to do in order to help find the prince and prepare to fight this great evil which was coming. And with access to the weapons the Ten Rings were already in possession of, he had the ability to now make a power source, which could also be used as a substitute for the battery. He also had other plans, after all, why should Rhodey and Pepper be the only ones with a suit? And this new miniature arc reactor could power the suits. The puzzle pieces were coming together.

 

The escape was loud and full of fire, bullets, and rocks. Tony made sure the explosion was very large. It was his calling card, and his beacon to ensure everyone knew he’d been there. He was bruised and bloodied when Rhodey jumped out of the helicopter and wrapped him up in his arms. For the first time in over three months, Tony felt safe. 

 

“I kept having dreams while you were gone.” Rhodey was sitting next to Tony in the medical facility at an undisclosed location. The other man had barely left Tony’s side long enough to blink. 

 

“Me too.”

 

“We’re supposed to be looking for a prince, and some jewels or gems, or a glove or, I don’t know, a tiara or something. It’s apparently important.”

 

Tony nodded and drank the water Rhodey handed him. “Yeah, and apparently there are others. And I’ve get an armor now too.”

 

“I wish there was some way to find out what’s going on. I don’t like feeling as if I’m being led around.”

 

Tony rubbed at his chest, the miniaturized arc reactor sitting heavy.

 

“Tones, is that what I think it is?” 

 

“Yeah.” Tony had explained the injuries and battery earlier to the doctors and Rhodey had heard, but he’d refused to answer anything about the arc reactor. “It’ll power the suits. This was the missing piece.”

 

Rhodey settled on the bed next to Tony, shoulder to shoulder, putting himself between Tony and the door. “We still need to find others. And we also need to find who was behind this.”

 

Tony leaned against Rhodey’s side, gaining confidence and strength from having the other man near. 

 

“I pretty much killed everyone and everything at the camp I was being held. I do know it was the Ten Rings who kidnapped me, but it doesn’t feel like that was it; I think there’s more behind this. The attack was too organized and too targeted.”

 

“Yeah, and the military intelligence doesn’t have much to add. There was no chatter that they were planning a kidnapping or an attack, especially not on American soil. Nothing outside the ordinary or which would raise any flags.”

 

Tony sighed heavily. He wanted to get home and finish work on his massive AI project, run his company, and work on the ideas that sprang up from miniaturizing the arc reactor. He didn’t want to deal with dream voices and princes, or battles or terrorist groups, or even conspiracies to have him kidnapped.

  
  


Pepper came and collected him from the hospital as soon as the doctors gave him permission to leave. He would have gone sooner, but Rhodey’s serious face was in play and he knew he wasn’t going to get out of a complete check up and a clean bill of health, especially since he underwent surgery and had a super battery in his chest. Before he’d left and got kidnapped, Tony had presented the armor to Pepper, who fell in love with it. She’d been having dreams as well, and knew she would be needed to help protect the prince. Now, he let her know he had a power source, and they’d discuss it later, once he’d eaten actual good food and slept in an actual awesome bed.

 

Obie was there to greet Tony when he got home. Pizza and a hug that was tight and long. He told Tony that he’d handle everything with the board, and he should take as much time as he could to heal and rest. 

 

Sleeping in his own bed again went a long way to making Tony feel better, helping him heal. He hadn’t had many more dreams about the prince, or at least, none that gave him any information beyond finding him. Tony didn’t know who he was or where to look, so he couldn’t put his vast amount of resources or connections, or even intellect into finding him. And he needed to find others? Like guards? But nothing about them either. Was he just supposed to know them when he saw them? 

 

In the meantime, he outfitted the armors with their power sources, and had fun with Rhodey and Pepper testing them. It was a mixture of knowing what to expect and how to do things, but still needed to practice to get the muscle memory and actual physical aspects of it down. Before long, however, Rhodey needed to get back to work, and it was just Tony and Pepper. One weird thing in a long list of weirdness was that Pepper wasn’t having the dreams like Rhodey and Tony, but she was still important and needed. 

 

“JARVIS?”

 

Tony called out to his AI, bringing him up online, hoping this would work. He’s spent his years at MIT fixing DUM-E’s base code in order to build and expand to a fully functioning AI. JARVIS was online before, but not fully functioning. 

 

“Sir, how may I assist you today?”

 

Tony’s smile was bright and wide, and DUM-E spun around in a circle, beeping in excitement. 

  
  


With JARVIS up and running and learning, Tony was able to dedicate some time sleuthing through various systems. The accuracy of the attack and targeted nature of it pointed to an inside job. He wasn’t liking the evidence being presented to him though. It had to be someone high up in the SI team, and someone who knew him well. Tony was in his workshop reading through the feeds JARVIS has been collecting.

 

Tony sat down with Pepper and had Rhodey on teleconference and presented them both with the evidence he’d found. 

 

“The demonstration was definitely need to know on the DoD’s end. The only ones who knew were those who were present.”

 

Tony nodded along with what Rhodey was saying, “A secret is hard to keep, honey bear, even in the military. Maybe especially in the military, which runs on gossip and rumor as much as anything. And, to be fair, it is difficult to keep anything to do with Stark Industries completely quiet.” 

 

Tony recognized he was playing devil’s advocate, to a point. He just didn’t want to believe someone within his company would sell him out like this. 

 

“What we need is more information. If the person who orchestrated this is smart, they won’t keep anything on the company’s servers, and it stands to reason they’d be pretty capable of handling their own cyber security.” Pepper looked as angry and determined as Tony had ever seen her. 

 

“Right you are Pepper. I told you both I was able to determine a power source for the suits. Well, it’s the arc reactor.”

 

Both looked at Tony’s chest, neither one looked happy at the reminder that Tony was so seriously injured. 

 

“Yeah, this is the last piece of the puzzle and I feel that with this, we can start getting some answers. I have JARVIS sifting through cyberland, picking up breadcrumbs and other clues so we can be pointed in the right direction.”

 

Pepper grabbed onto Tony’s hand and addressed both him and Rhodey, “We’re beside you in this, Tony. Just let us know what you need, and we’ll do whatever we can to help.” 

 

Rhodey echoed her statement. Tony smiled and blinked, swallowed, and he wouldn’t cry because he had the two best friends in the world. 

  
  
  


“The leader’s name was Raza, but I got the feeling he was still taking orders from someone else. Yinsen-” Here Tony had to pause because his friend, his savior, didn’t make it. “Yinsen said he heard him arguing on the phone with someone, but he never heard a name.”

 

Pepper was sitting with Tony, in his lab, both eating Chinese take-out and drinking wine. 

 

“JARVIS, what have you found on the Ten Rings?” Pepper stole some of Tony’s shrimp, she was a ninja with her chopsticks. 

 

“The Ten Rings are an organization designated as a terrorist group. They have no real manifesto or goal that they have shared with the world. For all intents and purposes, sir, it seems as if they just want to destroy.”

 

Tony was staring at the ceiling, listening to JARVIS and thinking back to what he’d learned while kidnapped. 

 

“They said they wanted weapons and energy. They even showed me a picture of Dad’s arc reactor. But what do they need the energy for?”

 

“JARVIS, do you have any idea where Raza is now?”

 

“Yes ma’am, cell phone activity of a last known phone number associated with him, puts him on the Canadian border.”

 

“Thank you JARVIS.” Pepper stood up and walked to her armor. It was small and sleek, built for stealth and speed. She chose a very dark purple and silver color scheme, and when they all practices flying, Tony noticed that she took to it as well as she took to anything she did. She didn’t have much in the way of weapons, just the repulsor tech and energy bombs, but she was deadly accurate with them. 

 

“So, Tony. Why don’t we go ask Raza what exactly he wanted?”

 

Tony smiled and set his food aside, then went to stand next to Pepper, looking at the red and gold armor standing next to hers. 

 

“Should we call Rhodey?”

 

Rhodey’s armor was all greys, silvers, and black. Where Peppers was lean, Rhodey’s was bulky. 

 

His was a tank with all the weapons Tony could think to put on it. The eyes were red. Rhodey loved it. 

 

“No, he decided to go play pilot this week, he can settle for playing with us next time.”

 

Tony laughed and put his arm over Peppers shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “I think him going to work and doing his job is a bit more than deciding to go play. But, we’ll invite him next time. 

Pepper and Tony arrived to what looked like a training camp. There were obstacles and tents, firing ranges and people. Tony had JARVIS route into the cell phones and use them as a microphone to listen in. Tony loves modern technology and JARVIS is the best.

 

“So how do you want to do this?” Pepper was keyed into the conversations going on. Tony heard Raza’s voice, it wasn’t one he’d forget.

 

Tony charged up his repulsors and locked onto the door of the only hardened structure present, “We knock on the front door.”

 

The blast sent splinters flying in all directions, and men came streaming out, already firing. He heard the pings of bullets hitting the armor, but otherwise ignored them. The suit was built to withstand even armor piercing bullets. Even Pepper’s armor was, though she could outfly them. 

 

It wasn’t difficult to take out the shooters. Once they were sprawled on the ground, the sound of bullets no more, Pepper came flying out with Raza. Their plan had been to just take out the men and get Raza. It was more an outline than an actual plan, but Pepper was basically on clean up and distraction. She’d fire her energy bombs to distract the shooters, then go in and steal their guns while in stealth mode. She was deadly and efficient grace in her suit. When the did find the prince, she would be one hell of a guard. When she came out with Raza, Tony wasn’t the least surprised.

 

“Oh, my sugar bear is gonna be so angry he missed this!” 

 

Pepper laughed as she tossed Raza at Tony’s feet. The other man stumbled and face planted into the ground. Tony popped his faceplate up and glared down at Raza.

 

“So, Raza, feel up to answering a few questions?”

 

Tony and Pepper called in the authorities then quietly left, all the bad guys neatly tied up for them. They hadn’t killed everyone, but a few stray ricochet’s had caught some of the men. Still, they had the intel they needed and were on their way back home to discuss it.

 

“Who the hell is the Mandarin? And why the hell did you not get me?”

 

Tony was up, pouring drinks for everyone.

 

“Sour patch, don’t be angry. You were working.”

 

“The armors are a dream in action, and all that practice we did with them really helped. And we promise, we’ll call you next time.”

 

Rhodey grumbled as he accepted the drink from Tony and spoke to JARVIS.

 

“Any records anywhere on Mandarin? That name isn’t familiar to me, but he may not be in my AOR.”

 

“There is nothing definitive that I could find, but I am still looking. The only references are to a Chinese mystic. He was imbued with magic powers and attempted to take over the world in the 16th century. It reads more like legend than fact. It could be someone who took the moniker Mandarin to seem more than he is.”

 

“Okay, like Dread Pirate Roberts, or James Bond then. Did Raza have anything to say about who ordered your kidnapping?”

 

Pepper looked away, jaw clenched and hand fisted. Tony downed his drink and poured another. 

 

“He named Obie.”

 

Rhodey was silent with disbelief. He could only imagine how much that hurt Tony. The man had practically raised Tony after his parents died. And Rhodey had a great relationship with him too. They did a lot together, and they had formed a bond on their shared goal of looking after Tony. 

 

“Did he say why?”

  
Tony shook his head but also said, “No, he only mentioned that Obie would help provide the energy.”

 

“The arc reactor.” Rhodey didn’t even try and hide the growing horror in his voice. 

 

Pepper stood up and walked to Tony, resting her shoulder against his and reached for his hand. 

 

“We think he need wants it to create the energy, we just don’t know what they need the energy for.”

 

Rhodey stood up too and walked to stand behind them, putting his hands on their shoulders, before asking, “How do you want to play it, Tones? Whatever you decide, we’re with you.”

 

Tony took a deep breath, “Why don’t we ask him.”

 

“In the suits.” 

 

“I never realized how vicious you were, Pepper.” She just smiled at Rhodey. It was not a nice smile.

 

JARVIS pinged Stane’s location at Tony’s warehouse in upstate, where Howard’s giant arc reactor was housed. Tony was thankful he’d never shown Stane the miniature RT. The three friends landed outside the facility, which was luckily away from any cities or civilian populations. It was in the middle of nowhere. They all walked toward the building, Tony disabling the security. 

“Is that you, Tony? I know you’ve had Pepper sneaking around the offices.”

 

Tony lifted his faceplate and answered back, “Not Pepper. We found you through my AI and through Raza. Did you really think you could hide? From me?”

 

Tony motioned for Pepper and Rhodey to split up, each taking a side. They all knew the layout of the building as well as their own homes. They were all headed to the room where the arc reactor was stored. 

 

“You were the reason Raza was caught? Good work, Tony. He was getting to be too much of a liability. He couldn’t even do a good job and kill you.” 

 

Tony slowly made his way to the room, using the intercom he’d patched into to listen to and speak with Stane. Tony turned the corner down the hall that lead directly to the room. It was straight ahead, he was almost to Stane. There were three other halls that led to the room, and Pepper and Rhodey were on their way. 

 

“What do you need the energy for, Stane? Are you working for the Mandarin too?” Tony paused at where the hallways intersected, waiting.

 

“What makes you think I’ll talk? Tony, I’m just here for the arc reactor and then I was going to kill you. We’ve already put plans in motion that would give us Stark Industries, and there’s no need for you.”

 

Tony saw Pepper and Rhodey, so it looked like right then no one was anywhere else in the building. It was just the three of them and Stane, and anyone else was in the room with him. 

 

“You mean the paper trail you tried to lay that showed I was embezzling money from the company? The planted evidence that I was buying drugs and prostitutes? No,  _ Obie,  _ we found that and erased it already.”

 

The three of them walked to the door, not being especially careful. Their armors could withstand gunfire. 

 

“You little shit! First you can’t die like you were supposed to, now I can’t even get rid of you from the company!”

 

As soon as Tony entered the doorway, he was blasted backwards by a force of some kind, thrown back into the wall -- through a wall and into the next room. He heard the sound of his name from Rhodey and Pepper, as well as repulsors and gun fire. 

 

“I’m fine. Just, stop Stane and let's figure out what the hell that was!” Tony was slow to get up. That blast felt like it hit him through the armor. 

 

“Like my little surprise, Tony? The Mandarin gifted me with some new toys. A ring that  allows me to generate and project various beams of concussive force, this one is called Influencer. I can chose between a force blast or a sonic beam. Handy things this ring.”

 

“Tony, he’s got friends with him! And they have Stark Tech.”

 

“Shit! Pepper, you’ve got the speed and stealth, Rhodes, you’ve got the firepower. Take them out! I’ve got Stane!”

 

Tony used his repulsors to blast his way into the room Stane was in, taking out a few henchmen in the process. In the back of his mind, he knew he may have to destroy the arc reactor, as much as he didn’t want to. But Stane could not get his hands on it. He’d get Pepper and Rhodey out of the complex so they’d be safe before he destroyed it. 

 

Rhodey was taking out the henchmen, and Pepper was removing different obstacles, taking guns, using her energy bombs as distractions, blinding the bad guys. They were a very effective team. 

 

“Still there, Tony? I’ve got more rings. Try this one, it’s called Lightning!” 

 

A huge blast of electricity hit Tony scare in the chest, right over the arc reactor. At the same time, Tony got a blast of his sonic repulsors off and knocked Stane over into the arc reactor controls. He felt his heart stutter and saw the arc reactor flicker, but stood up nonetheless. 

  
“Tony! You still good?” 

 

Tony flailed his hand at Rhodey, “I’m good, finish this. Then get out of here. I’m going to destroy the arc reactor.”

 

“What? It’ll kill you.” That was Pepper, sounding angry and winded and worried. 

 

“Just go. I’ll be fine!” 

  
“You brought Pepper and Rhodes here too? Perfect, I’ll finish them off too. Here is my last ring. It’s called Remaker. You felt the power of the first two, this one is a little different.”

 

Tony watched as Pepper and Rhodey finished up with the henchmen, then he was deafened by a loud sonic sound. He felt paralyzed and watched as Stane faced Rhodey and lifted right hand. On his thumb, Tony saw a ring, and he watched as Rhodey’s suit disassembled from around his body and then flew towards Stane. 

 

“Pepper, get him out of here, then get as far from the complex as you can!”

 

This time Pepper didn’t question the directions. She grabbed Rhodey and flew out, not looking back. 

 

“Ah, you miniaturized the arc reactor and used it to power the suits. That is quite ingenious of you, Tony. But you always did work well under pressure.”

 

Tony felt nauseous at how Stane caressed the armor.  

 

“This is so much more portable, and yet still outputs so much energy. It’s perfect. I’ll take it and we’ll figure out how to make more. It’ll be an unlimited source of power and energy.”

 

Stane faced Tony and lifted his right hand, the one with the ring, Remaker. “I’ll finish the job Raza failed to do. Then I’ll take your company, and when the Mandarin rules the world, I’ll have a slice in the new world order.”

 

Tony needed to keep Stane talking while he and JARVIS hacked into the arc reactor controls. 

 

“Funny, from the way Raza was talking, Mandarin worked for someone else. Someone bigger. Seems to me that he isn’t making the rules and you should be wary of any promises. Are you sure he’s letting you in on the plans? Maybe you’re not as important as you think you are?”

 

“Sir, I have control of the console to the arc reactor.” JARVIS was Tony’s best creation and his favorite one as well. 

 

“You know, Tony, when Howard complained about you, I was always on your side. I stuck up for you and told him to go easier on you, you’re his son. And while you are more brilliant than he was, Howard was right about one thing. You never shut up.”

 

“NOW JARVIS!” As Tony heard the sonic blast he hoped he was fast enough to beat the Remaker ring. He needed his armor for when the reactor blew up. 

 

Pepper and Rhodey watched as the complex blew up and a beam of energy shot upwards. 

  
“Tony?! TONY?!? Rhodey, he made it right? He had to have.” 

“Take us back, Pepper.” 

 

When the two made it to the complex, they had to pick their way through debris. It was slow going, but most of the blast was contained around the room the arc reactor was held in. Most of the energy went upwards, the other damage was from the fight and especially Stanes magic rings.

 

“TONY!” Both friends called for Tony. 

 

About ten minutes into the search, they heard a groan. Both raced towards the sound and helped move debris away. When they saw the red and gold armor, they sped up their efforts. 

  
“I feel like a truck landed on me.”

 

Rhodey snorted and helped Tony stand up. Well, Pepper helped Tony stand up as the armor was heavy and Rhodey was currently not wearing his. 

 

“What happened?” 

  
“Let’s get away from here and I’ll explain.”

 

The three made their way towards town, where Rhodey rented a car so they could drive back home. 

 

“So, where did Stane go?” Tony took the ice pack Pepper handed him before answering her question. 

 

“He used that ring of his, Remaker, to control the armor to protect him and before carrying him away.”

 

“Dammit. So he’s not gone? And he has an armor and arc reactor?”

 

“Well, kind of. I mean, he is gone, but he doesn’t have an armor or arc reactor?”

 

Both looked confused, but it was Rhodey who asked, “What? What does that mean?”

 

Tony smirked, self satisfied and cocky. “The armor only responds to your biometrics, and it is fitted to you. No one else can wear it. And it is setup to self destruct if someone other than you tries to wear it and fly it. Also, the arc reactor is setup to self destruct if it is tampered with the wrong way. You have to actually know what you are doing to take it apart.”

 

The three laughed, tension fleeing from them. 

 

“What do we do now?” Tony reached out for Rhodey’s hand and then Pepper’s. 

 

“We find these stones, we find the others, and we find the Moon Prince. Then we stop Thanos. And in between all of that, we figure out where Stane went, and find the Mandarin.”

 

Pepper and Rhodey each squeezed the hand they held, with Rhodey adding, “So, nothing too taxing then.”

 

“Whatever we do, we’ll do together. We’ll have each other’s backs in this. Just like always.”

 

“Yeah, we’ve got this, and anything else that comes our way.”

 

“Sir, there is a Nick Fury asking for you.”

 

The three look at each other before Tony answers, “Well, the moment’s ruined now. Let him in JARVIS.”

 

Yes, sir.”

 

When Nick Fury entered the room, Tony only briefly fixated on the eye patch; his attention was almost immediately caught by how the man’s trench coat seems to move as if it were caught in a breeze, even though they were inside and there was none.

 

“I’ve been looking for you, Stark. We need to talk. About what went down at your complex, and about the infinity stones and Thanos.”

  
  


_ “It’s beginning. We need to find the others.” _

 

_ “They will awaken soon. All of them. And they’ll come together.” _

 

_ “Will it be enough? Soon enough?” _

 

_ “It’ll have to be. They galaxy, even the universe, depends on it.” _

 

Epilogue

 

Stane made his way to China, and to the Mandarin’s home. The Mandarin spoke from the shadows.

 

“Is Stark dead? Do you have the reactor?”

 

Stane lowered down to one knee and presented the miniaturized arc reactor. “Tony is not dead, but I have an armor he built, and an arc reactor he miniaturized. If we can reverse engineer it, we can make more and use them to collect the energy you need.”

 

“And my rings?”

 

Stane removed the three rings and held his hand out. An aged, thin hand reached out, covered in more rings, and took the ones Stane had. 

 

“Do you have control of Stark’s company?”

 

Stane shook his head, “No. He found out my plans and destroyed them. He also destroyed the bigger arc reactor before I could stop him. That was when I took the suit and flew away.”

 

Before he could next blink, Stane found himself flying through the air, hitting a wall. He slowly slid down it and settled in a heap on the floor. 

 

“That was Spin, a handy ring. You’ve failed in your tasks, and the only reason I do not use Spectral on you, disintegrate you where you sit, is that you did manage to bring me an arc reactor. With this, we shall be able to create enough energy to power up the portal to bring Thanos through, and find the six infinity stones.”

 

Stane heard the Mandarin stand up, but when he looked all he saw was darkness, moving down the steps, coming towards him. 

  
“Take this, learn how it works, make more. Perhaps then, Thanos will let you live in his kingdom. Do the same with the armor, make more and we’ll have an army worthy of Thanos as he conquers the earth.”

 

Stane reached out to take the arc reactor, following the Mandarin to a workshop. He didn’t know how he’d figure out the arc reactor, he was the money guy, not the tech guy. When he got to a lab table, he set the arc reactor down and went to pick up a magnifying glass and a tool kit. 

 

When he released the outside casing, he let out a sigh of relief. The Mandarin was watching him, making him nervous. After he released the outer casing, he started in with the inner power source. Or what he thought and hoped was the inner power source. Between one breath and the next, he felt a shock, heard a fizz sound, and saw smoke. Then the blue light of the reactor went out. 

 

“Well. This is most unfortunate for you, Stane. You’ll have to be punished now.”


End file.
